We're in the house ... is anybody out there?

I've just dug the laptop out of the shanty town of cardboard boxes that is my new office in the hope that I might be able to get some kind of communication to the outside world.

Right now we are pretty much devoid of any of the technological niceties we have become accustomed to, which I wouldn't mind so much if we had moved to a third world country, or even the Lake District, but is proving a bitter pill given that we have moved half a mile to the other side of town.

Sky have informed me they will connect the broadband on December 10, which right now seems like next year, so I'm relying on an unreliable dongle that Dave kindly donated.

The stereo people have yet to wire up the house, so we only have a TV which seems to lose its satellite connection whenever it is switched off and a ... wait for it ... FM radio. This worked fine until Lizzie tried to plug a dodgy lamp into one of the kitchen sockets and tripped the ring main. Now it doesn't seem to want to find any stations.

The good thing about all this is that I can concentrate on getting things unpacked, and it is at least an exercise in coping in the event an electromagnetic pulse takes out the world's electronic communications.

It has helped me realise that I probably wouldn't cope very well.

PS: I'll try and post some more pictures of the state of the place during the first days but I can't promise anything with this dodgy dongle connection.

Goodbye to all that: the shed

I reckon I will miss the shed more than I'll miss some bits of the house, especially after spent a good few weeks in the summer turning it into a bolthole.

That involved turning the thing for the second time in its life and while it was empty, painting the inside of it.

To make it a bit more homely I added one of out Vietnamese day beds, then spent at least ten minutes lounging in it looking at the bike.




By the time I had finished Lizzie told me I'd made it look like something out of MASH, which I thought was a little unfair, considering.

Of course I will have a shed at the new place, and quite a substantial one it is too But like a lot of things in life you never forget your first shed. Especially when so much effort has been wasted on it.

Resurrected: the archives

Going through some of my drawers has been like unearthing ancient artifacts - a timeline of my tastes through the medium of accessories, and a reminder that Japan isn't the be all and end all for clothes even if I might sometimes think so.

Take my scarf collection. Not something I've really had the occasion to revive so far this year, but in winters past the addition of a silk scarf was de riguer in terms of outfit accessorisation.

You will note my first silk scarf purchase to the left of the picture, a gold and olive patterned Gucci affair of considerable length.  Below that is a McQueen thing which was almost a cross between a scarf and a tie.

To the north of the Gucci is a Louis Vuitton striped scarf which is actually the only one which has had an outing this season. Still looks good under a sweat.

Peaking out below the hat to the right is silk scarf by William Hunt which never really got a lot of wear but is on the verge of being put in for cycling.

Talking about the hat, that's from Dunhill. Bound to be seeing the light of day as the winter draws in, with its floppy lug protectors. Then there's the Gucci belt, always a faithful companion for keeping the strides in position.

Doing the off: anticipated service interuption

In this day and age moving house shouldn't really prove too much of a problem when it comes to blogging, unless you are a Sky customer.

Even though I didn't get my moving date until four days before we were due to move, Sky expected two weeks notice, so I can now expect to be without broadband or would you believe, a telephone, for three weeks. If I want to keep my landline number it could be 30 days.

Of course the moment I was notified of this I again told them I wanted to leave, to be reminded I was still "under contract."

So please forgive me if my posts become sporadic in the coming days. It might mean I haven't been able to track down a wi-fi hotspot, or hook onto someone else's without them knowing.

And whatever you do, never become a customer of Sky.

Woolrich Woolen Mills spring summer 2011 collection: cool in the wet I expect

This is the last collection Daiki Suzuki is doing for Woolrich Woolen Mills, so you might want to shed a tear when you put one of these jackets on.

Don't worry if you do. It looks like this stuff built to withstand a spring shower or two at least. And spring summer 2011 is virtually guaranteed to put it to the test weather wise. 

So no need to worry about that. Better to use the time to take in the seventies walking jacket cues and marvel at the craftsmanship.

That should keep your mind off the drubbing of another summer.

Via Slamxhype

Visvim Eiger boots: a hill too far

Visvim Eiger FIL exclusive colourway

Visvim was way ahead of the curve when it introduced its Serra hiker a few years back.

Fast forward to this year and everyone looks like a mountaineer. The Moncler x Visvim hiking boots went faster than a loose bobble cap in a gale, and in their place you will now find Visvim's Eiger boots.

An equally splendid offering, you might think. I certainly did, until I saw the price. £1,005 in Dover Street Market. That sort of money would buy you a fair condition family car.

The price might even be considered slightly more acceptable if they were mind blowing in some way, but the Moncler offerings were in my mind better looking for less than half the price.

What's more, there is an Italian brand which has been around three times longer than Visvim, hand-makes mountain boots with the same Vibram sole as the Eiger, and until this season was available solely to the Japanese market.

It is Fracap. Put their scarponcini alongside the Eigers and you will be hard pushed to decide which looks best. Of course Visvim will always have its heel cap going for it, but for an £800 saving, I could live without that.

I wouldn't usually go on about the price of things on here and I know that one of the reasons Visvim has remained such a sought-after brand is the quality, which comes at a price. But there is a ceiling, and I reckon they've gone through it.

Fracap Scarponcini boot

Moncler V hiking boots

Tokihito Yoshida for Barbour Spring 2011 To Ki To: bang on

Tokihito Yoshida has to be the best thing to happen to Barbour since the weather. He's been involved with the brand beloved of country squires for a few seasons now, and it's evident from this collection that he's settling in nicely.

He's covered all his bases here - from a swing jacket for the city, through to a waxy number reminiscent of the generic Barbour look for when you're popping a couple of pheasants.

Jeeves! Release the birds!

Via Slamxhype

Visvim Bickle Pollard: lining up nicely

I buttoned my Visvim Pollard insulator into my Bickle M65 the other day. This is one of the deciding factors in getting the Bickle - four seasons usage, always sways the decision.

And the fact that these jackets fit in with each other is one of the reasons I like Visvim so much. It feels like I'm getting more for my money.

One of the most noticeable things was how exactly well they fitted, seeing as the Pollard is a size medium from about '07 and the Bickle was an '09 model. Proof that Visvim is making smaller sizes. This Bickle isn't the only large that has felt more like a medium, and this is the proof.

Even the buttons match up between the two.

I don't know if they're sizing down to maximise usage of materials or what, but if Hiroshi keeps on like this, there will be a few expensive seams giving way.

Terry Richardson shoots Glee: the proof is in the sauce

Our favourite celebrity photographer has been at it again, this time with Glee, who, I'm informed, are some sort of TV phenomenon. Can't say I've paid much attention to them before.

Now our Tel has got involved, it's a different story, don't you reckon?

In the bag: the backpack selection

Visvim Luminaria

I don't really know why I have been starting to think about backpacks. Maybe it's that mountaineering vibe that I've got going on right now, the boy scout survival thing coming out, in case I get stuck in a snowdrift on my way down to the train station.

We are after all supposed to be on the verge of the harshest winter for 31 years.

Whatever, I've been having a trawl around and found a few decent methods of transporting my sandwiches, and this year there seems to be a bit of an alpine vibe going on, which is nice.

Acronym 3A-7TS Tec Sys

Supreme 29th backpack

Yuketen triangle backpack

Hillary Tenzing Rolex Explorer: high time

The thing that has always got me about the Rolex Explorer One is the lack of a date function. Seeing as I spend most of the time walking round without knowing what day of the week it is, I've always found this feature quite handy.

Nevertheless, this is a tasty watch - refined, subtle, but possessed of a chunkiness that belies its frost-covered heritage, and recognisable by those enlarged numerals to enable you to tell the time even if your eyeballs have frozen over.

This was the watch that accompanied many an arctic expedition, not least Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay's Everest weekender on May 29, 1953.

The sale of Sir Edmund's Rolex collection has apparently been the subject of some controversy of late, so it's quite fitting that the Hillary Tenzing Series of Rolexes has been released. Some might even consider it cashing in.

The limited edition set of three watches from the creators of the Piccard Single Red Deepsea and not officially associated with Rolex come with a bunch of accessories and a dodgy looking plywood crate. For $39,000 (£24,000). If you ask nicely they might even give you the boots.

The upside of the storm

This was the sky over the Thames Estuary as the sun started to peep over the clouds after a day of rain and wind yesterday. It even made the oil refinery look a bit picturesque.

Shortly after this it was blowing a gale. And it still is.

Errolson Hugh: the man who made Acronym

VISIONS OF VISIONARIES WITH ERROLSON HUGH | MADE from MADE Blog on Vimeo.
Acronym clothing is the sort of stuff you want to be wearing when the world is about to end. This is chain mail for the urban environment, black-ops wear for the street. Bring on the apocalypse.

One day Errolson Hugh, former designer for Burton snowboard wear and the likes of Nike, got a bit fed up with his garments failing to live up to expectations, letting in wind and water, that kind of thing.

So Acronym was born. And while these days a jacket might set you back the price of a decent second-hand hatchback, it will probably last longer, and look better.

This video by Made magazine in Berlin gives you an insight on the mind of Mr Hugh and how Acronym came about.

Tron Legacy Bearbricks: flashback

I've been getting a little bit excited about this new Tron film. I have a dim and distant memory of the original film which involves me being too young to really appreciate it, but the colours looked good at the time.

So I will be going to see Tron: Legacy, and will sit in wonder at the 3D extravaganza this promises to be. Maybe I will dribble a bit as I regress to an age when I wasn't in full control of my faculties.

Maybe I'll take one of these Bearbricks by Medicom. Something to run along the back of the seat in front during the dull bits.

Nike Fragment Design Dunk: back to basics

A few pairs of dunks have passed this way over the years. I'm sure I've still got a pair of Un-Tiffanys kicking around somewhere. They were pretty much the only thing I wore for years.

Can't say I've had a lot of occasion to get involved lately, although you should never say never, because just when I thought the Nike Dunk was done as far as my footwear armoury was concerned, out trots Hiroshi Fujiwara with a Fragment pair.

As is the Fragment tradition he has kept the palette to a minimum, but chosen his hues wisely. But really, it's all about the logo.

Via Fatkids

Yuketen sport hunt boots: wearing in

I got these towards the end of August and had planned to give you a detailed look before I started wearing them, but I couldn't bear to have them off my feet for long enough.

A few months on and they are beginning to feel like trusty old pals. the leather is wearing in nicely and they've already proven themselves in the wet - it's amazing the grip you get from a plantation crepe sole.

I'm actually looking forward to putting these through their paces in the dark months. Bring on the snow.

Friday randoms

I've got that Tumblr feeling again. This is the latest collection of shots that have absolutely no resonance other than the fact that they're good to look at. Can you believe I bothered putting them in some sort of order? Enjoy the weekend.